St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-10-19
He Says That it is of No Avail
to Fight Corporate
Monopolies.
Alleged Defalcation of a
Trusted Employe of a
Township.
The Dakota Methodist Con-
ference--Genepal North
western News.
Special to the Globe

! special 10 tDo GlODe.
WASHINGTON, Oct. 1S.-The situation
in the interior department is indeed
grave. This afternoon Commissioner
Sparks said: 81 am satisfied that who
gever stands in the way of the corpora
tions and fights for the rights of the peo-
pie to the public domain must sooner or
later go to the wall" This was said
deliberately and with evident fore
thought. 1t was rather the outspoken
Thought of reverie than an emphatic
declaration. Your correspondent in
quired: 'Surely that does not apply to
yourself, Mr.. Commissioners" Quickly
and with animation he responded: "The
people are with me, and honest settlers
understand my sincere devotion to their
interests SO well that it would be impos-
slble for corporate power to hurl
my brains out but they are are
having their effect, they are having
their effect. have stood here in my
place in this hardest of offices to fill and
have endured insult, contumely, bias
phemy, even libelouS assaults upon my
character. [ have done my duty as L
see it, and have been bounded by land
sharks, syndicate millionairs, railroads
and fraudulent entry men. l have done
what have done in the interest of the
honest settlement of the public domain.
in single day." Further explanation
of the status of affairs followed. "The
land in Alabama, Missouri, Michigan
and other states is offered for sale by
cash entry. Any corporation can buy
millions of acres if thew Only nav their
money, but
IN THE TERRITORIES
and younger states land is not offered
and can only be gotten by fraudulent
entries OF accomplishments of entries
with only face compliance with the law.
The recent decision of Secretary Lamar
destroys all my work and sets a prece-
dent for the entering wedge of fraud.
1t is lamentable."
Hon. Frank Parke, of West Virginia,
appointed by the president and con-
firmed by the senate as superintendent
of the division of public lands in the
ssf were in Gen. Sparks place, I
would secure reversal of that decision
of the secretary, OF would resign. No
one knows what an amount of abuse
and vilifying Sparks has endured un-
complainingly, because he considered
himself bound in duty to fill that office
in the public interest. People on the
outside cannot know, and persons on
the inside cannot tell the whole story.
Sparks is right, and has been all the
time. He does not magnify and enlarge
on frauds. He simply states the facts
in his reports. The former adj
ministrationS were honey-combed
with fraud. When the iron hand
came down they wiggled, spat,
cursed, swore, traduced and
finally wheedled themselves into the
confidence of Secretary Lamar. Sparks
seems to be right. Corporate monopoly
is getting the better of him. Lamar is
honest, but he has been misled by them.
If Sparks gives way before them it will
be useless for anybody else to try to
withstand them. The veteran law clerk,
Lebarnes, is preparing a letter under
direction of Commissioner Sparks, ask
ing Lamar to review the decision. 1t
will be carefully prepared and an i'm
pOrtant public document. 1t is safe to
say now, and the GLOBE may reiterate
the original telegram on this subject
that unless the president comedies with
Sparks in causing a review of this de-
cision in the case of the Chicago, ST.
Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha railroad,
Sparks will resign. The probabilities
point only to the determination of
Lamar to hold to his original decision.
His great power with the president
tends to induce the prophecy that
Sparks will have to succumb. Hence
his statement to-day, "Whoever with
stands corporate monOpolies must go to
thp wall -